paw; 


)%  K 


Who,  Where,  and  Why  is  Villa? 

By  Dr.  A.  MARGO. 


“Pancho  Villa”,  with  Jose  Rodriguez,  considered  responsible  for 
the  murders  at  Santa  Isabel,  and  an  American 
newspaper  correspondent. 

LATIN-AMERICAN  NEWS  ASSOCIATION 
1400  Broadway,  New  York  City 


Does  Mexico  Interest  You? 


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What  the  Catholic  Church  Has  Done  for  Mexico,  by  Doctor 

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International  Labor  Forum  . 

Intervene  in  Mexico,  Not  to  Make,  but  to  End  War,  urges 

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The  President’s  Mexican  Policy,  by  F.  K.  Lane  . 

The  Religious  Question  in  Mexico  . . 

A  Reconstructive  Policy  in  Mexico  .  L  o.io 

Manifest  Destiny  . . . . .  j 


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Speech  of  General  Alvarado 
Many  Mexican  Problems  . . 


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Land  Question  in  Mexico  . 


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How  We  Robbed  Mexico  in  1848,  by  Robert  H.  Howe . 

What  the  Mexican  Conference  Really  Means  . 


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WHO,  WHERE,  and  WHY  IS  VILLA? 


By  Dr.  A.  MARGO. 


For  the  last  two  years  there  has  been  going  on  at  the  border  between 
the  United  States  and  Mexico,  something*  which  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  amounts  to  the  side-show  of  a  great  big  circus  in  which  are  be' 
ing  shown  the  latest  wonders  of  the  world.  Nothing  like  it  has  been  seen 
before,  it  is  absolutely  original,  a  real  American  creation.  Remarkable 
stunts  are  exhibited:  a  whole  army  is  kept  at  a  man’s  heels  killing  him 
continuously,  and  yet  that  man  never  dies. 

From  time  to  time,  the  American  people  are  called  upon  to  witness 
the  extraordinary  exhibition  of  this  remarkable  specimen,  who  seems, 
since  coming  into  contact  with  American  civilization,  to  have  developed 
the  extraordinary  ability  of  rising  at  will  from  the  dead.  The  balehue 
man  who  calls  upon  the  public  to  come  and  see  this  unusual  freak 
is  here  represented  by  the  American  press.  The  man  who  is  on 
exhibition  has  been  called,  for  the  sake  of  convenience,  “Pancho  Villa.” 
This  personality  has,  at  different  times,  assumed  different  roles  in  the 
extraordinary  “show”:  at  one  time  he  is  featured  as  a  man-eating 
beast,  hardly  above  the  cannibals  of  the  wildest  regions  of  Africa;  at 
other  times,  he  has  been  made  to  appear  as  a  great  saviourr  and  the  leader 
of  the  down-trodden  masses  of  his  country. 

In  the  palmiest  days  of  his  fame,  the  American  public  was  trained 
to  look  upon  this  man  as  a  hero.  His  exploits  were  daily  reported  by  the 
American  press;  he  loomed  high  as  the  man  who  had  thrown  himself 
into  the  fray  to  avenge  the  wrongs  of  his  people.  It  was  well,  in  a  way, 
that  at  first  the  American  people  thought  highly  of  Pancho  Villa,  for 
we  do  not  deny  that  in  helping  along  in  the  accomplishment  of  the 
Revolution,  he  has  done  some  good;  but  since  then,  the  situation  has 
changed  and  all  the  good  that  he  had  accomplished  has  been  over-bal* 
anced  by  the  intrigues  in  which  he  has  figured  with  the  object  of  selling 
out  his  country  together  with  the  people  in  it. 


3 


WHO  IS  VILLA? 


The  purpose  of  this  article  is  to  disclose  to  the  American  people  the 
real  identity  of  this  man.  We  had  not  done  it  before,  taking  into  con¬ 
sideration  his  past  services  and  in  the  hope  that  he  would  retrace  his 
later  steps  and  again  work  for  the  betterment  of  his  people,  as  he  had 
started  to  do.  We  have  waited  long,  and  it  appears  that  our  hope  will 
not  be  realized.  The  American  people  have  been  mislead  too  long  by 
this  dual  personality  who  is  parading  at  the  same  time  as  a  brigand  and 
as  a  hero,  and  the  American  press  has  been  taking  the  principal  part  in 
this  misleading,  the  purpose  of  which  is  obvious,  as  we  will  show  later. 

In  the  first  place,  it  must  be  understood  that  the  name  “PANCHO 
VILLA”  has  been  identified  with  different  personalities  at  different 
times;  as  a  matter  of  fact,  this  name  has  been  for  many  years,  a  house¬ 
hold  word  with  the  people  of  northern  Mexico.  The  name  was  used  by 
other  persons  long  before  the  man  with  whom  the  American  people  are 
acquainted  had  even  been  heard  of,  as  it  is  now  being  used  by  other 
than  the  man  who  is  known  under  that  name  to  the  people  here. 

At  one  time,  there  was  a  man  who  led  the  life  of  a  bandit;  in  other 
words,  who  made  it  his  business  to  plunder  the  rich  and  help  the  poor 
whose  lands  and  homes  had  been  taken  from  them.  He  was  a  regular 
modern  “Robin  Hood”;  he  held  up  the  stages  of  the  well-to-do  on  the 
high'ways,  and  ransacked  them.  He  was  the  idol  of  the  poor,  for  in  their 
distress  and  misery,  he  always  came  to  their  aid.  In  the  homes  of  the 
wealthy,  he  was  pointed  out  to  the  children  as  the  bad  man  who  would 
carry  them  away  if  they  did  not  behave.  He  was  a  great  help  to  the 
mothers  of  that  part  of  the  country  in  keeping  their  children  quiet,  and 
many  a  grown  up  man  of  today  will  blame  “Pancho  Villa”  for  his  narrow 
chest,  as  he  was  not  allowed  to  cry  freely,  but  was  frightened  into  silence 
by  the  threat  of  this  bogey-man  who  was  always  lurking  round  the 
corner.  In  a  way,  this  new  “Pancho  Villa”  is  enacting  the  same  role  to 
terrify  the  grown  up  American  children. 

But  this  “Pancho  Villa”,  the  terror  of  the  children  of  Chihuahua 
and  the  friend  of  the  poor,  was  an  old  man,  and  he  died  at  least  thirteen 
years  ago.  Tne  children  heaved  a  sigh  of  relief  when  they  heard  of  his 
end,  while  the  poor  grieved  over  the  disappearance  of  their  protector  and 
benefactor. 

For  quite  a  number  of  years,  there  was  no  more  bandit-  by  that  name 
in  northern  Mexico,  but  towards  the  year  1907,  we  began  to  hear  of  the 
bandit  “Pancho  Villa.”  Here  begins  the  story  of  the  mysterious  man 
about  whose  exploits  during  this  Revolution,  the  American  people  have 
heard  so  much. 

In  the  American  press  it  has  been  occasionally  stated  that  Francisco 
Villa’s  real  name  is  Doroteo  Arango;  more  than  this,  the  American  press 
and  those  who  really  know  him  have  not  cared  to  say  in  order  to  enlighten 


the  people  on  the  real  identity  of  this  wonder  of  the  XX  century,  who 
but  two  years  ago  was  featured  in  the  moving  pictures  and  in  the  press, 
and  otherwise  was  made  much  of  by  the  American  people.  Pictures 
could  be  seen  everywhere  of  Pancho  Villa  in  company  with  the  highest 
commanders  of  the  American  army,  such  as  General  Pershing,  (who  is 
now  supposed  to  be  chasing  him  in  Chihuahua) ;  General  Scott,  the 
Chief  of  the  General  Staff,  was  one  of  his  warmest  friends.  In  the  hum¬ 
drum  of  daily  life,  the  people  have  forgotten  what  from  time  to  time  had 
occupied  so  much  space  in  the  daily  press:  if  they  remembered,  they 
would  not  allow  themselves  to  be  so  misled  in  regard  to  this  man. 

The  writer  of  this  article  has  been  in  and  out  of  this  great  tent  show, 
where  the  remarkable  exhibition  is  going  on,  and  happens  to  know  the 
figures  which  make  up  the  chief  attractions,  and  especially,  this  wonder¬ 
ful  man. 

Doroteo  Arango,  alias  “Pancho  Villa”,  at  one  time  belonged  to  that 
historical  body  called  the  “Rough  Riders”,  which  was  organized  by  the 
irrepressible  “Teddy  the  Terrible”;  the  same  body  of  men  which  went 
down  to  Cuba  and  licked  the  Spaniards  at  the  battle  of  San  Juan  Hill. 
Here  we  disclose  the  fact  that  Teddy  was  not  the  only  great  man  in  that 
historical  battle,  as  the  American  people  have  been  taught  to  believe, 
for  there  with  him  was  the  man  who  today  is  known  as  “Pancho  Villa”, 
in  reality  Doroteo  Arango. 

This  man  is  a  saddle  maker  by  trade,  and  after  the  Rough  Riders 
Regiment  was  disbanded,  he  joined  another  cavalry  regiment  in  the 
regular  army,  in  which  he  was  made  a  sergeant.  He  did  service  in  the 
Philippine  Islands  and  later  was  stationed  at  the  Presidio  Barracks  in 
San  Francisco.  This  man  never  lost  an  opportunity  to  surge  ahead: 
that  much  credit  we  will  give  him.  He  acquainted  himself  with  all  the 
rules  of  the  game  and  never  lost  an  opportunity  to  take  advantage  of  an 
opening  “to  make  good,”  as  the  term  goes. 

WHERE  IS  VILLA? 


In  1906,  when  the  earthquake  occurred  and  reduced  San  Francisco 
to  ruins,  Doroteo  Arango  was  ready  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity 
and  become  a  financial  success.  In  company  with  a  man  who  later  be¬ 
came  the  mayor  of  San  Francisco,  he  looted  the  ruins  of  several  banks. 
He  deserted  the  Army  and  escaped  with  a  few  thousand  dollars;  he  made 
his  way  into  Mexico,  and  from  that  time  on  he  was  no  longer  known  as 
Doroteo  Arango,  he  became  the  “new”  Pancho  Villa  and  followed  the 
profession  of  the  man  who  had  died  a  few  years  previously.  No  doubt 
in  this  new  capacity  he  acted  as  the  friend  of  the  destitute  people;  at 
any  rate,  he  adopted  the  name  of  the  old  bandit  whose  immense  popular¬ 
ity  had  made  him  the  idol  of  the  downtrodden  people  of  that  part  of 


5 


the  country, — he  led  that  life  until  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution  of 
1910,  when  he  proffered  his  services  to  the  Madero  party  and  was  made 
a  colonel  in  the  revolutionary  army.  He  displayed  great  ability  in  handl¬ 
ing  his  men  and  the  success  of  the  Madero  Revolution  in  the  north  may 
be  credited  to  a  great  extent  to  his  ability  and  popularity. 

The  revolution  was  from  the  start  an  effort  of  the  people  to  regain 
the  land  which  had  been  taken  from  them.  The  people  fought  not  for 
any  particular  leader,  but  to  acquire  their  economic  independence,  as 
they  understood  it.  The  Madero  Revolution  came  to  an  end  without 
having  accomplished  the  purposes  which  the  people  fought  for.  Villa 
became  an  officer  in  the  newly  organized  Federal  Army  under  the  com¬ 
mand  of  General  Huerta,  who  was  at  that  time  at  the  head  of  the  forces 
of  the  North;  for  insubordination  he  was  court-martialed  and  sentenced 
to  be  executed.  The  Madero  family  interceded  in  his  behalf  and  he  was 
taken  to  Mexico  City  and  subsequently  pardoned  by  President  Madero. 
He  returned  to  this  country  and  led  a  peaceful  life  until  the  assassination 
of  Madero,  when  he  was  again  heard  of,  and  here  started  the  most 
spectacular  period  of  his  career.  He  was  known  to  have  no  personal 
wealth  and  no  financial  backing  of  any  kind.  He  plunged  across  the 
border  with  horses  that  he  stole  from  a  livery  stable,  in  which  he  had 
been  working  at  El  Paso.  It  did  not  take  long  to  recruit  an  army,  but 
he  had  no  arms  and  no  ammunitions. 

During  his  peaceful  stay  in  El  Paso,  he  had  made  the  acquaintance 
of  men  who  were  interested  in  different  business  and  enterprises  in  Me¬ 
xico.  Among  the  military  men  of  the  Border  he  had  acquired  a  reputa¬ 
tion  of  being  a  military  genius;  they  knew  that  his  training  had  been 
acquired  in  the  American  Army.  Of  all  the  men  who  loomed  in  the 
horizon  of  the  troublesome  situation  in  Mexico,  he  was  the  one  who 
could  be  best  trusted  to  carry  out  their  designs.  He  was.  given  financial 
backing  by  different  interests  and  soon  he  was  in  possession  of  the  most 
modern  equipment  for  his  army.  We  have  reason  to  believe  that  at  first 
he  had  no  intention  to  become  the  tool  of  the  interests  that  financed 
him.  At  least  we  wish  to  give  him  the  benefit  of  the  doubt,  but  he  was 
placed  in  such  an  environment,  that  he  subsequently  became  not  only 
their  tool  but  their  partner  in  business. 

The  phenomenal  military  exploits  that  he  accomplished  in  a  few 
months  after  he  launched  the  counterrevolution  against  Huerta,  are 
well  known  to  the  American  public,  but  nobody  knows  how  he  was  able 
to  equip  an  army  that  was  admitted  to  be  up  to  the  standard  of  any 
modern  army  that  was  ever  assembled  in  this  Continent.  He  had  with 
him  the  finest  artillery  and  machine  guns;  his  hospital  trains  were  of  the 
best  that  could  be  had,  every  military  train  of  his  army  was  furnished 
with  a  portable  ice-plant,  and  his  soldiers  drank  iced  water  in  the  middle 
of  the  desert,  while  the  Federal  Army  was  dying  of  thirst.  That  was  the 
Eecret  of  his  great  success. 


6 


WHO  BACKS  VILLA? 


Where  did  he  get  the  money  to  acquire  all  these  things? 

It  is  well  known  that  Chihuahua  and  all  the  Northern  part  of  Mexico 
is  one  of  the  richest  fields,  both  mineral  and  agricultural  of  any  country 
in  the  world. 

'During  this  revolution,  many  of  the  mining  enterprises  conducted 
by  Americans  and  other  foreigners  had  been  forced  to  lay  idle.  Villa 
came  in  as  a  man  of  efficiency,  who  would  bring  industry  to  normal  con* 
ditions.  He  exchanged  millions  of  dollars  worth  of  mining  concessions 
for  a  few  hundred  thousands  dollars’  worth  of  arms  and  ammunitions. 
The  ammunition  makers  of  this  country  became  hugely  interested  in 
General  Francisco  Villa,  for  at  that  height  of  his  fame  he  was  no  longer 
to  be  known  as  “Pancho.”  % 

The  Guggenheim  interests  who  before  the  revolution  had  been  try¬ 
ing  to  acquire  the  rich  copper  mines  of  northern  Mexico  were  now  able 
to  accomplish  their  aims,  and  they  became  one  of  Villa’s  •  strongest 
supporters. 

The  State  of  Chihuahua  is  one  of  the  richest  cattle-raising  territories 
in  the  world.  The  Terraza’s  ranches  which  embraced  the  largest  portions 
of  the  State,  contained  millions  of  heads  of  cattle,  and  naturally  the 
packing  concerns  in  this  country  could  not  resist  the  temptation.  They 
became  also  one  of  the  allies  of  Pancho  Villa. 

The  Armour  Packing  Co.  established  a  packing  house  in  El  Paso, 
Texas,  for  the  exclusive  purpose  of  packing  the  beef  that  was  secured 
by  Villa,  and  he  became  a  partner  in  business  with  the  Armour  Pack¬ 
ing  Co. 

Across  the  Rio  Grande  which  divides  Mexico  and  this  country,  could 
be  seen  thousands  of  heads  of  cattle  going  into  the  stock  yards  of  the 
Armour  Plant  in  El  Paso.  The  proceeds  of  this  business,  amounted  to 
millions  of  dollars  which  were  divided  between  the  companies  of  this 
country  and  the  chief  operator  in  Mexico,  Pancho  Villa.  We  could 
ennumerate  ad  infinitum,  concerns  who  were  similiarlv  interested,  but  this 
is  enough  to  give  an  idea  of  the  power  behind  the  throne.  It  will  be 
useless  here  to  give  in  detail  an  account  of  the  interest  that  the  press  of 
this  country  had  in  these  exploits,  for  it  is  well  known  that  every  cor* 
poration  that  has  invested  in  Mexico  is  directly  interested  in  manipulat¬ 
ing  the  press  of  this  country.  The  influence  that  William  Randolph 
Hearst  has  brought  to  bear  in  trying  to  bring  this  country  and  Mexico 
to  an  open  break  is  well  known  to  the.  people  of  this  country,  for  he  is 
deeply  interested  in  land  holdings  and  mining  interests  in  the  southern 
Republic.  The  facts  are  that  all  these  parties  have  had  something  to  do 
with  the  continuous  trouble  that  has  been  going  on  along  the  border. 


7 


In  the  past  two  years  there  has  been  hardly  a  day  when  the  daily 
press  did  not  contain  a  report  of  some  raid  that  had  taken  place  or  that 
was  going  to  take  place  on  the  border;  for  curious  to  say,  the  Hearst 
interests  seem  to  know  weeks  in  advance  when  such  affairs  are  going  to 
take  place. 

How  it  was  that  these  raids  could  not  be  prevented  when  certain 
parties  had  foreknowledge  of  them,  is  something  that  has  not  been  made 
clear.  We  do  not  deny  that  raids  have  taken  place  and  that  they  were 
made  by  Mexicans,  at  least  some  of  them.  The  reason  for  this  is,  that 
the  country  on  the  other  side  of  the  Rio  Grande  has  been  reduced  to 
misery  and  starvation.  The  live  stock,  horses  and  oxen  with  which  the 
peasants  tilled  their  soil  have  been  driven  across  the  border  to  this  side 
of  the  River.  The  people  on  the  other  side  have  been  left  in  a  state  of 
starvation  and  under  such  circumstances  it  is  only  natural  that  once  in 
a  while  they  should  get  together,  organizing  bands  and  raiding  the  Amer¬ 
ican  side  to  get  back  some  of  those  things  that  have  been  taken  from 
them.  But  many  of  the  raids  which  have  been  advertised  in  the  press 
were  absolute  fabrications  if  not  deliberately  organized  to  foment  trouble 
between  the  two  countries. 

Just  as  we  are  writing  these  lines  there  comes  to  us  a  copy  of  the 
New  York  World,  of  December  the  thirty  first,  1916,  in  which  we  find 
an  article  by  Liut.  Col.  Reginald  L.  Foster,  of  the  New  York  National 
Guards  who  has  just  returned  from  the  Texas  border  and  we  find  a  few 
statements  that  corroborate  the  assertions  that  we  have  just  made.  To 
quote  a  few  extracts  of  what  he  has  to  say  in  part: 

“So  remote  is  the  Mexican  border  problem  from  the  average 
New  Yorker  that  he  finds  himself  perfectly  able  to  approach  this  very 
delicate  subject  with  a  free  hand  and  an  open  mind. 

“No  New  Yorker  can  be  so  biased  as  not  to  realize  this  within 
a  few  days.  Marauding  is  not  war.  Cattle  setealing  is  no  army  in¬ 
vasion.  Even  the  murder  of  one  man  by  another  is  not  ground  for 
internecine  strife.  Yet  the  average  Texan  tells  you  that  this  is  all  as 
it  ought  to  be.  Then  he  asks  for  practically  all  the  soldiers  of  the 
United  States  to  be  sent  there  to  protect  him.  He  omits  mentioning 
that  the  theft  and  murder  is  about  fifty-fifty,  with  the  score  rather 
in  favor  of  the  Americans. 

“THE  STOCK  TERM  BY  WHICH  SOME  OF  THE  FRANK¬ 
ER  INHABITANTS  REFER  TO  WHAT  IS  BULLETINED  OUT 
OF  TEXAS  “Another  border  atrocity”,  is  “Moving  picture  raid.” 

“You  can  buy  a  raid  right  down  here  in  the  village  for  fifty 
dollars  and  amunition;  and  for  seventy  five  dollars  you  can  get  a 
first  class  one. 


8 


“I  don’t  blame  these  border  Mexicans  for  being  bandits.  It  is 
the  only  way  the  poor  devils  get  enough  to  eat  for  themselves  and 
their  families.  They  have  been  robbed  and  murdered  for  so  long 
that  when  some  leader  comes  along  with  the  offer  of  a  gun  and 
plenty  of  frijoles  and  tortillas  for  the  whole  kit  and  caboodle  of  them, 
the  Mexicans  snap  up  the  offer.  The  whole  family  goes  along,  for 
father  has  a  good  job  at  last.  Besides  he  may  get  square  with  the 
man  who  killed  his  cousin  last  year.” 

We  hope  that  we  have  made  clear  the  connection  of  different  interests 
with  the  military  successes  of  Pancho  Villa.  The  American  people  dur- 
ing  this  time  were  trained  to  believe  that  Villa  was  the  strongest  man  in 
Mexico,  and  at  that  time,  the  Washington  Government  was  seriously 
considering  recognizing  him  as  the  legal  Government  of  Mexico;  but 
Villa’s  power  suddenly  failed  and  the  situation  was  entirely  changed.  It 
must  be  said  here,  that  Villa  had  to  a  certain  extent  solved  the  problem 
for  which  the  people  were  clamoring.  He  had  allowed  the  people  to  take 
the  land  back  and  to  work  it  for  themselves  in  certain  districts  of  the 
territory  he  controlled,  but  when  he  conceived  the  idea  of  making  him¬ 
self  the  absolute  master  of  the  situation  he  found  it  necessary  to  again 
deprive  the  people  of  the  land,  in  order  to  force  them,  into  his  army.  The 
plantations  and  other  lands  that  he  had  confiscated,  he  distributed  among 
his  army  chiefs  and  other  friends  who  acted  as  his  financial  agents.  One 
of  these  gentlemen  was  none  other  than  Mr.  George  Caruthers,  who 
accumulated  a  fortune  while  acting  as  American  representative  and 
financial  agent  for  Villa  at  the  same  time.  Others  less  prominent  than 
he  are  too  numerous  to  mention.  Villa’s  military-power  failed  because  of 
his  betrayal  of  the  people  he  had  •  claimed  to  champion.  He  lost  his 
power,  and  by  losing  it,  he  jeopardized  the  grants  that  he  had  given  and 
the  interests  he  had  undertaken  to  safeguard  His  American  partners 
then  looked  to  some  one  else  to  protect  the  concessions  which  they  had 
acquired  from  Villa.  They  had  no  one  to  look  to  in  Mexico,  so  they  turn¬ 
ed  to  the  United  States  as  their  only  hope  of  protection.  But  to  secure 
this,  they  had  to  do  something  to  bring  the  two  countries  into  a  conflict, 
thereby  furnishing  an  excuse  for  the  invasion  of  Mexico. 

VILLA’S  POWER  ON  THE  WANE. 


Villa  made  his  last  stand  as  a  military  leader  in  the  battle  of  Agua 
Prieta,  when  the  last  remnants  of  his  shattered  army  were  finally  defeated. 
He  foresaw  the  wane  of  his  power  and  gave  up  the  command  of  the 
army  he  had  led  to  destruction.  Having  made  up  his  mind  to  retire,  he 
called  upon  his  men  to  take  care  of  themselves  and  to  do  as  they  saw  fit. 


9 


THE  HUMAN  “?” 


The  press  of  this  country  announced  that  the  great  leader  had  fin¬ 
ally  been  vanquished  and  had  decided  to  retire  from  his  operations  in 
Mexico  and  give  up  his  time  to  lecturing  in  this  country.  Cartoons  of 
the  papers  of  these  days  can  still  be  seen  picturing  Villa  looking  for  a 
job  at  the  vaudeville  shows.  That  he  came  to  this  country  for  that 
purpose  is  a  well  known  fact  to  all  the  people  who  are  acquainted  with 
his  movements;  but  on  account  of  certain  statements  that  he  made  in 
El  Paso,  which  were  injurious  to  his  former  associates,  he  was  prevented 
from  carrying  out  his  plans.  He  mysteriously  disappeared,  and  was 
reported  at  different  times  to  be  in  southern  California,  in  New  Orleans, 
and  in  Cuba.  Nothing  much  was  heard  any  more  about  Pancho  Villa 
until  rumors  were  again  heard  that  he  was  back  in  Chihuahua,  killing  all 
the  Americans  that  he  could  lay  his  hand  on. 

Some  time  during  the  month  of  February  of  last  year,  some  seven¬ 
teen  Americans  were  killed  in  a  mining  camp  in  Chihuahua.  It  was 
immediately  reported  that  Pancho  Villa  was  the  one  who  had  committed 
the  outrage,  although  no  one  could  assert  that  he  was  seen  there,  but 
this  was  a  good  opportunity  to  lay  the  foundation  for  the  excuse  that 
would  make  it  possible  to  invade  the  neighboring  country.  Certainly  of 
all  the  individuals  that  could  be  considered  responsible  for  this  move, 
none  more  suitable  than  the  bandit  who  already  enjoyed  the  reputation 
of  committing  nefarious  deeds.  This  country  was  deeply  stirred  by  the 
news  of  the  assassination  of  these  men,  but  it  did  not  furnish  reason 
enough  for  the  invasion  of  Mexico.  Those  interested  in  carrying  the 
attempt  to  a  successful  end  did  not  stop  there. 

The  most  monstruous  attempt  was  finally  undertaken  on  the  ninth 
ofi  March  of  last  year;  the  press  flashed  the  news  throughout!  the  country 
of  what  has  been  known  since,  as  the  massacre  of  Columbus,  New 
Mexico.  The  raid,  it  was  said,  had  been  led  by  Pancho  Villa  himself. 
The  country  was  immediately  inflamed  by  the  reports  of  the  killing  of 
civilians  and  soldiers.  That  the  raid  was  made  by  Mexicans  we  do  not 
deny,  but  that  it  was  planned  by  interests  on  this  side  of  the  border  we 
also  assert.  There  is  nothing  to  prove  that  the  bandit  Pancho  Villa 
led  the  raid,  and  there  is  a  great  deal  to  show  that;  the  man  was  not  only 
not  there  at  the  time,  but  that  he  was  hidding  somewhere  in  this 
country. 

The  events  of  that  date  have  been  painfully  explained  and  repeated 
in  the  press,  but  nothing  has  been  said  of  the  means  that  were  taken  to 
incite  to  the  deed.  Many  pages  could  be  filled  with  the  accounts  of  the 
massacre  that  took  place  there,  but  nothing  was  said  of  what  had  taken 
place  a  few  days  before,  that  acted  as  the  fuse  to  the  perpetration  of  the 
deed.  The  protagonists  of  these  attempts  have  always  remained  at  a 
distance,  well  guarded  from  view  or  from  any  publicity,  while  the  poor 
dupes  who  carried  out  their  frame-ups  are  made  the  scapegoats. 


10 


THE  COLUMBUS  RAID. 


On  the  sixth  of  March,  just  three  days  before  the  Columbus  raid  took 
place,  there  was  a  little  report  in  the  press  that  could  hardly  be  noticed. 
In  a  few  lines  we  read  on  that  day,  that  eighteen  Mexicans,  who  had 
been  admited  as  immigrants  to  this  country  were  put  in  jail  in  El  Paso,. 
Texas.  While  there,  they  were  put  through  the  customary  requirements- 
of  taking  a  bath  in  gasoline.  While  going  through  with  this  process,  the 
tanks  caught  fire  and  the  Mexicans  were  burned  to  death,  while  the  cells 
were  locked  up.  The  mayor  of  the  city  of  El  Paso,  announced  that  the 
whole  thing  was  an  unavoidable  accident  and  that  nobody  was  to  blame,. 
This  kind  of  accidents  happen  pretty  often  to  Mexicans  in  Texas,  and  it 
was  just  as  unavoidable  as  the  lighting  of  a  cigarette.  The  people  in 
that  part  of  the  country  were  quite  stirred  up  and  no  doubt  this  had  a 
great  deal  to  do  in  exasperating  some  of  those  who  took  part  in  the  raid, 
but  they  were  not  conscious  that  they  were  being  made  the  dupes  for 
the  benefit  of  parties  who  were  looking  for  an  excuse  to  invade  the 
country.  At  any  rate  it  had  the  desired  effect:  the  people  were  put  in 
a  mood  in  which  they  were  ready  to  consent  to  the  invasion  of  Mexico. 
The  cry  went  up  immediately  “On  to  Mexico,  catch  Pancho  Villa,  dead 
or  alive.”  It  was  evident  to  those  who  knew  what  was  behind  the  whole 
thing,  that  the  man  whom  they  pretended  to  be  trying  to  capture  would 
never  be  caught.  For  obviously  a  culprit  cannot  be  caught  where 
he  is  not. 

People  who  were  acquainted  with  the  situation  knew  that  Pancho 
Villa  was  not  in  Chihuahua  at  the  time  the  invasion  of  Mexico  was  under¬ 
taken  and  furthermore  that  the  man  has  not  been  there  in  all  this  time 
that  he  is  supposed  to  be  pursued  by  the  American  army.  In  the  first 
place;  it  is  disclosed  that  the  raid  on  Columbus  was  premeditated,  that  the 
American  commanders  on  the  border  had  knowledge  of  the  attempt  at 
least  a  week  in  advance,  and  that  they  could  have  prevented  the  raid  if 
they  had  been  interested  in  so  doing. 

The  town  of  Columbus  is  situated  in  the  middle  of  a  desert,  and  no 
considerable  body  of  forces  could  march  toward  that  place  without  being 
noticed  in  ample  time  to  prevent  their  doing  any  damage.  Every  body 
in  that  neighborhood  seemed  to  know  what  was  going  to  happen.  In 
the  reports  of  the  papers  of  that  date  the  facts  leaked  out  that  passengers 
on  the  East  bound  train  were  told  of  the  raid  by  American  soldiers 
twenty  four  hours  before  the  raid  happened,  in  the  station  of  Hachita, 
New  Mexico,  which  is  a  few  miles  west  of  Columbus.  When  they  arrived 
in  Columbus  nothing  had  occurred,  but  it  happened  just  as  it  had  been 
foretold  to  them,  twenty  four  hours  after  they  had  left  the  place. 

The  newspaper  syndicate,  owned  by  Mr.  Hearst  seemed'  to  be  as  sure 
of  the  occurrence  as  if  it  had  been  a  moving  picture  drama,  for  which 


II 


all  the  preparations  had  been  made,  for  he  sent  special  telegraph  operators, 
to  flash  the  news  throughout  the  country  and  they  were  so  sure  that 
this  was  coming  off,  that  his  papers,  in  Chicago  at  least,  were  giving 
the  news  of  the  raid  a  day  in  advence. 

A  few  days  after  the  raid  the  press  came  to  the  point  of  having  to 
explain  how  a  small  body  of  raiders  had  beaten  the  garrison  of  American 
forces  at  the  town  of  Columbus.  The  best  excuse  that  could  be  found 
was  that  Villa  was  able  to  rout  the  American  forces,  because, — they  said, — 
the  American  machine-guns  were  out  of  commission  and  could  not  work. 
Other  explained  that  the  Americans  were  asleep  and  they  did  not  hear 
the  shooting  when  it  started.  It  is  well  known  since'  then  that  the  Amer¬ 
ican  machine-guns  were  the  very  ones  that  the  raiders  made  use  of  to 
shoot  up  the  town  of  Columbus.  The  day  after  the  raid  happened,  Lieut. 
Zell,  the  commander  of  the  machine  gun  squad,  committed  suicide.  The 
reason  for  his  act  is  not  definitely  known  to  any  one,  but  it  is  easy  to 
deduce  that  he  had  something  to  do  with  the  delivery  of  the  machine- 
guns  to  the  raiders  and  that  he  could  not  stand  to  bear  the  responsibility. 

The  commander  of  the  American  forces  in  Columbus,  Col.  Slockum, 
who  is  an  owner  of  Mexican  mining  interests  and  therefore  had  some 
interest  in  the  invasion  of  Mexico,  was  relieved  of  his  command  and 
court-martialed  charged  with  having  been  implicated  in  the  conspirancy 
to  bring  about  the  raid.  He  has  since  been  cleared  of  the  charge,  but 
was  never  restored  to  his  command. 

INVASION  OF  MEXICAN  TERRITORY. 

The  desired  results  were  accomplished  and  the  invasion  of  Mexico 
began  immediately,  for  the  purpose  of  catching  Villa,  dead  or  alive,  it 
was  said.  The  fantastic  stories  that  have  been  going  on  in  the  press,  of 
how  the  American  troops  have  surrounded*  Villa,  how  he  has  been  killed 
one  day  and  is  found  alive  the  next,  are  tales  with  which  the  American 
people  has  become  so  well  acquainted  that  they  no  longer  surprise  any 
one.  It  seems  to  be  taken  for  granted  that  this  man  has  developed  the 
power  of  digging  himself  out  of  his  grave,  faster  than  the  American  army 
can  kill  him.  Sometimes  he  is  killed  in  the  morning  papers  and  rises  from 
the  dead  in  the  evening  papers.  At  other  times  he  is  reported  by  the 
different  papers  to  be  in  as  many  places  as  there  are  papers.  It  seems 
that  each  paper  has  its  own  Pancho  Villa  operating  in  the  locality  that 
is  most  desirable  to  the  editor,  in  order  to  make  the  exhibition!  so  much 
more  interesting  and  lively.  It  has  been  reported  that  he  has  been  shot 
and  his  leg  blown  off  about  twenty  times,  so  that  one  might  conclude 
that  this  man  Villa  is  a  centipede,  having  enough  legs  left  to  get  away 
successfully  from  his  pursuers. 

The  fact  is  that  the  name  Villa  is  being  used  today,  not  to  denote 
any  particular  personality,  but  to  designate  in  the  abstract  that  disturb- 


12 


ing  element  which  make  it  necessary  for  the  American  army  to  remain 
in  Mexican  territory.  There  have  been  reports  in  the  papers  at  different 
times  that  make  it  clear  that  even  the  American  army  chiefs  do  not  be¬ 
lieve  that  Pancho  Villa  is  in  Chihuahua  and  that  their  purpose  in  the 
country  is  not  to  catch  the  bandits.  We  could  quote  from  different 
papers  to  that  effect  but  we  will  give  only  an  extract  from  an  article!  by 
a  newspaper  man,  who  went  down  to  Chihuahua  with  the  American 
forces  and  published  his  story  in  the  New  York  Telegraph  of  June,  1916. 
It  says  in  part: 

“It  has  got  abroad  in  Mexico  that  Villa  is  not  in  Mexico,  but 
that  he  is  enjoying  himself  in  New  York  City,  of  all  the  places  of 
the  world  where  a  man  can  safely  hide.  Manhattan  seems  the  best 
to  these  New  York  boys  down  here.  Furthermore,  the  soldiers  in 
Mexico  are  saying  Pancho  Villa  was  not  in  Columbus  raid,  and  I 
am  free  to  say  only  Mrs.  G.  E.  Parks,  the  switch-board  operator, 
who  thinks  she  dimly  saw  a  figure  similar  to  the  stockily  built  Villa 
has  said  in  my  hearing  that  Villa  was  seen  during  the  wild  hours  of 
the  raid.  The  deeds  were  done  in  Villa’s  name,  and  the  cry  “Viva 
Villa,  Mueran  los  Gringos”  will  echo  through  the  dreams  of  the  Co¬ 
lumbus  citizens  as  long  as  their  minds  hold  the  impression  of  the 
terrible  morning.  Still  no  one  man  or  woman  has  been  able  to  tell 
me  that  he  or  she  saw  Villa. 

“This  may  not  mean  anything,  for  Villa  was  known  only  by  his 
pictures  to  many  of  them,  and  the  night  was  dark,  save  where  the 
burning  buildings  lit  up  the  wild  dark  faces  of  the  Mexican  invaders. 
But  still,  if  the  idea  gets  widely  scattered  among  the  soldiers,  that 
instead  of  their  expedition  being  a  chase  for  the  glory  of  getting  the 
pelt  of  the  fox  of  the  “Sierra  Madre”,  it  is  a  wild  goose  chase 
with  the  central  figure  enjoying  himself  in  the  roof'gardens  of  Man¬ 
hattan,  while  they  die  in  his  desolate  land,  the  demoralization  will 
be  sure  and  will  be  quick.” 

It  is  not  known  to  the  writer  of  these  lines  that  Pancho  Villa  has 
been  in  New  York  during  the  time  that  it  is  supposed  he  is  being  chased 
by  the  American  army  in  Chihuahua,  but  we  do  know  that  he  was  in 
this  country  at  the  time  when  the  chase  started,  and  that  the  American 
soldiers  who  are  grumbling  in  Chihuahua  are  not  mistaken,  when  they 
suspect  that  the  object  of  their  chase  is  somewhere  else  than  where  they 
are  now  looking  for  him. 

When  the  whereabouts  of  Villa  in  this  country  were  becoming 
publicly  known  he  was  carefully  shipped  away  to  South  America;  whether 
he  has  remained  there  since  we  cannot  tell.  He  might  have  made  his 
way  to  Mexico  through  the  republics  that  lie  South  of  that  country. 

It  is  evident  that  whenever  an  agreement  is  reached  to  withdraw  the 
American  forces  from  Mexican  territory,  Villa  looms  up  again  as  the 


13 


disturbing  element  that  makes  it  necessary  for  the  American  forces  to 
remain  in  Mexico. 

In  the  last  few  weeks  there  have  been  reports  of  the  activity  of 
Pancho  Villa.  When  the  conditions  of  southern  Mexico  have  become 
so  quiet  that  there  is  no  more  necessity  for  the  American  army  to  re¬ 
main  there,  something  happens  to  make  it  possible  for  them  to  stay.  No 
one  can  say  that  he  has  seen  the  man  there,  although  there  have  been 
reports  to  that  effect;  Gral.  Bell  in  his  report  to  the  War  Department 
says  that  he  has  not  been  able  to  ascertain  that  Villa  has  anything  to 
do  with  the  present  activities,  and  he  doubts  whether  Villa  is  anywhere 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  disturbance  centers.  The  papers  report  that 
Villa  is  directing  the  attack  on  the  different  places  by  wire.  He  is  not  to 
be  seen  anywhere.  Any  one  who  is  acquainted  with  the  conditions  of 
the  country  in  which  he  is  supposed  to  be  operating,  knows  that  there 
is  not  such  telegraph  to  be  used  by  anybody,  much  less  by  a,  disorganized 
band  of  raiders. 

There  is  another  man  who  has  played  a  part  in  the  border  incidents, 
that  is  only  second  to  that  played  by  Pancho  Villa  and  that  is  Grab  Jose 
Ines  Salazar.  He  has  been  sent  to  the  penitentiary  on  several  occassions 
by  the  American  authorities  of  the  border;  every  time  that  he  has  been 
put  in  the  penitentiary  he  has  successfully  escaped  from  prisons  where 
many  Americans  convicts  have  rotted  to  death.  How  this  man  has 
escaped  so  many  times  we  do  not  know,  but  he  is  the  man  who  is  now 
the  leader  of  the  disturbances  in  Chihuahua,  which  are  being  carried  out 
under  the  name  of  Villa. 

The  situation  in  Mexico  is  such  that  the  interests  that  had  flourished 
in  the  old  regime  are  in  danger  of  losing  their  holdings;  nothing  could 
save  them,  except  American  intervention,  and  they  will  use  any  means 
to  bring  the  two  countries  into  a  conflict.  They  will  foment  all  kinds  of 
trouble  to  keep  the  American  army  in  Mexican  soil  until  such  time  as 
they  find  it  opportune  to  launch  an  invasion  that  will  put  the  whole 
country  under  their  control.  With  them  it  is  a  mere  matter  of  business, 
and  if  the  American  people  are  foolish  enough  to  be  led  into  a  slaughter 
for  the  benefit  of  this  interests,  the  later  will  no  hesitate  to  do  it;  they 
have  nothing  to  lose  and  everything  to  gain. 

The  continuous  perfomance  that  is  going  on  across  the  border  not 
only  serves  to  furnish  an  excuse  for  invasion,  but  it  also  serves  a  double 
purpose. 

THE  PRESENT  USEFULNESS  OF  VILLA. 


For  some  time  past  there  has  been  a  great  effort  in  this  country  to 
establish  military  preparedness.  The  people  have  never  looked  upon  the 
idea  very  favorably,  for  it  did  not  seem  to  them  that  the  country  was 
unprepared  or  that  it  was  at  all  necessary  to  have  a  big  army.  As  a  last 


14 


resort  of  the  militarists  to  force  preparedness  on  the  country,  they  de¬ 
monstrated  to  them  the  unpreparedness  of  the  army  by  showing  the  people 
how  a  single  Mexican  bandit  could  get  away  from  the  whole  American 
expeditionary  forces.  Nothing  could  be  more  effective  in  demonstrating 
the  inefficiency  of  the  military  conditions  of  this  country.  They  have 
succeeded  in  prolonging  the  chase  for  the  bandit  until  the  American 
people  realize  that  preparadness  is  necessary,  and  the  plan  has  already 
begun  to  materialize,  for  they  are  now  talking  of  compulsory  military 
service.  Under  such  circumstances  Villa  is  not  only  not  a  hindrance  to 
the  American  Government,  but  he  is  a  great  asset  as  a  means  of  militar¬ 
izing  the  country. 

There  are  many  other  queer  things  to ,  be  observed  in  connection  with 
the  pursuing  of  this  “Fox  of  the  Sierras”.  We  often  hear  of  shipments 
of  ammunition  being  sent  to  the  base  of  operations  of  the  American  army 
in  Chihuahua,  although  for  the  last  three  or  four  months  there  has  been 
no  fighting  to  speak  of,  and  not  much  ammunition  has  been  used.  On 
the  other  hand  the  so-called  Villa  and  his  brigands  have  apparently  no 
means  of  getting  arms  and  ammunitions;  but  still  he  never  seems  to  be 
short  of  it;  and  here  we  wish  to  call  attention  to  what  might)  be  his  source 
of  supply.  Since  the  present  situation  in  Mexico  is  such  a  serious  problem 
to  the  American  Government,  this  would  be  an  interesting  subject  for 
careful  investigation.  i 

The  presence  of  the  American  forces  has  not  accomplished  its 
purpose,  which  was  that  of  catching  Pancho  Villa,  for  he  is  not  there. 
These  forces  have  not  aided  in  establishing  peace,  but  on  the  contrary 
they  have  been  the  means  of  preventing  the  solution  of  the  problems 
which  the  Revolution  has  set  out  to  solve., 

The  Mexicans  feel  that  the  American  army  is  being  used  as  a  club 
over  their  heads  to  keep  them  in  peonage  and  slavery,  and  they  will  not 
be  peaceful  as  long  as  there  are  before  them  prospects  of  their  returning 
to  the  state  of  misery  in  which  they  were  when  the  revolution  started. 

It  would  be  much  better  for  all  the  parties  concerned  if  the  American 
people  come  to  realize  that  nothing  has  been  gained  by  the  invasion  of 
Mexico  and  that  it  has  only  helped  to  prolong  the  struggle  of  the  masses 
of  Mexico  to  liberate  themselves. 

To  insist  on  maintaining  and  American  army  on  Mexican  soil,  only 
means  that  as  long  as  it  is  there,  the  trouble  will  continue.  There  is  less 
disturbance  in  other  States  of  Mexico  where  there  has  been  no  inter¬ 
ference,  than  in  the  State  of  Chihuahua,  where  the  whole  region  is  con¬ 
verted  into  a  huge  military  camp. 


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